Amanda Knox could face 27 years behind bars for the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007

Amanda Knox, the American exchange student accused of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007, faces a possible guilty verdict in the final phase of her retrial.

Amanda Knox Trial Update

Alongside her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Knox could be convicted of murder for her alleged involvement in Kercher’s death. If they’re convicted of murder by the panel of two judges and eight jurors, Italian prosecutor Alessandro Crini wants to be assured that they will both serve out their sentences behind bars, reported NBC News.

Complicating Crini’s request is that neither Knox nor Sollecito is in custody, due to the 2011 appeal trial that threw out their earlier convictions. While Sollecito has been in Italy for the trial and could potentially be put under house arrest, securing Knox’s imprisonment would prove more difficult, according to NBC.

Knox Could Get 32-Year Sentence

If Knox and Sollecito are found guilty, Crini believes that they should each get a sentence of 26 years for Kercher’s murder. Knox, according to the prosecutor, should get six additional years for slander.

Back in 2009, Knox and Sollecito had been found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison before they were released two years later as a result of their appeals. New evidence that was unearthed enabled prosecutors to reopen the much-publicized trial, arguing that it indicated the former couple aided in the stabbing murder of the 21-year-old Kercher.

Currently serving time for Kercher’s death is Rudy Hermann Guede of Ivory Coast, who had been tried in a separate trial. He is serving a 16-year sentence.